Green Key and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals: SDG #17

Green Key is a leading standard of excellence in the field of sustainable tourism, guiding tourism establishments to do their part in achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN. In the past months, we presented all 17 SDGs and explained their connection to Green Key. Today we talk about the last goal, SDG 17!

In 2015, the UN member states adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals to guide governments, the private sector and civil society in transforming our world into a safer, fairer and more livable place.   

On this page, you will learn more about Goal 17: "Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development".

What is Goal 17 about?

According to the UN, “Achieving the ambitious targets of the 2030 Agenda requires a revitalised and enhanced global partnership that brings together Governments, civil society, the private sector, the United Nations system and other actors and mobilises all available resources. Enhancing support to developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and the small island developing States, is fundamental to equitable progress for all”. In the link above, you can read about the targets and indicators to Goal 17.

Green Key’s global profile involves cooperation and partnerships among multiple stakeholders from the public, private and NGO sectors at various levels: At the local level between staff, guests, suppliers, and the surrounding community and at the national and international level between NGOs, corporate partners, authorities, and other partners involved in sustainable tourism. 

How does Green Key help to achieve goal 17?

Sustainable development can only be attained when businesses, civil society, NGOs, and governments contribute together to the same goals. Green Key believes in SDG 17’s global partnership for sustainable development and harnesses the power of its multi-stakeholder network to move further in the transition towards sustainability (SDG target 17.16).

Additionally, Green Key is partnering up with companies and startups in the field of clean technologies and smart solutions to spread sustainable technology as far and as broadly as possible (SDG target 17.7).

Green Key is also engaging with partner countries (with essential help from National Operators), institutional stakeholders, and NGO partners in the process of building collective capacity for sustainability (SDG target 17.9), for example by actively requiring establishments to measure their consumption and quantify their impacts on the environment.

Although SDG 17 shapes all actions undertaken by Green Key as a programme, we point out some of the ways 2022-2025 criteria help achieve the aforementioned targets:

• STRONG LOCAL PRESENCE – Thanks to Green Key's global network encompassing around about 60 countries, the programme can count on a variety of sustainable tourism experts who are ready to share their experience, knowledge, and ideas in close contact with applicant establishments all over the world. National Operators speak the local language, know national regulation and culture, and can assist establishments more closely in their path towards sustainability;

• INDEPENDENT, UNBIASED DECISION-MAKING - In most countries running the Green Key programme, either national juries composed of stakeholders from different sectors (e.g. national establishment associations, ministries of tourism/environment, representatives of the private sector or NGOs, etc.) or third-party auditors take the decision on the award, which ensures a broad and independent verification of the requirements, as well as a transparent and unbiased decision-making process;

• PARTNERING UP WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES - Green Key certified establishments must establish an active collaboration with relevant local stakeholders to enhance their active role in boosting environmental awareness and in promoting environmentally friendly practices in their surroundings (criterion 11.6). The aim of the programme is to actively engage businesses as ambassadors of sustainability and drivers for eco-friendly change across society;

• RELIABLE SUSTAINABILITY DATA – In line with SDG targets 17.18 and 17.19, Green Key believes in integrating education and awareness raising with a quantitative approach to the measurement of sustainability. Establishments are asked to register monthly/annual data on energy (criterion 7.1), water (criterion 4.1), waste (criterion 6.10), food waste (criterion 8.6) and GHG emissions (criterion 1.6) and input them in sustainability accounting database ECO-OS for further analysis by the Green Key staff. Annual reports are given back to the establishments, identifying opportunities for improvements and general trends in their environmental performance. Organised information on how the establishment is doing in terms of sustainability can support management and help leaders take more informed decisions to lower negative impacts on the environment and significantly move the hospitality industry closer to the common sustainability goal.

A document describing Green Key’s overall contribution to all 17 Sustainable Development Goals can be downloaded here.

Green Key and DIVELLO partnership to save water and energy

This partnership will help Green Key establishments optimizing, improving energy efficiency and extend the life of existing sanitary and heating installations.

In hotels, large amounts of energy and water are consumed unnecessarily. Sanitary and heating installations are often replaced, although with simple steps you can optimize and extend the lifespan of the existing installations.

Divello offers products to optimize existing sanitary and heating installations in properties (shower, tap, WC and radiator). Divello quickly became a leading product company in Scandinavia within their business area thanks to their independence, high-quality products and close cooperation with market-leading partners in production, distribution and installation. Individual tap sites have reduced their showers and tap water and energy consumption by up to 60% thanks to Divello products.

We are very proud to enter a partnership with Green Key. A strong brand, a global presence and the enthusiastic team at Green Key in combination with Divello high-quality products secures a water and energy efficient future. This partnership ensures a win, win, win situation for the Green Key establishments, their guests and especially the environment. Niclas Ryhage, Managing Director – DIVELLO AB (Stockholm 10/12-2019).

The agreement between Divello and Green Key will provide Green Key establishments with the tools to reduce their water and energy consumption and in this way contribute to spreading more sustainable practices in the hospitality industry.

Ecolab and Green Key partner to help hotels and restaurants across Europe improve sustainability

Partnership will help promote sustainability in the hospitality industry by offering sustainable and efficient hygiene solutions to members

A global survey carried out by travel and tourism company TUI Group found that 66% of travellers expect on the travel industry to build and promote a more sustainable experience.

Every day, Ecolab works with its customers across the globe to do more with less – using innovative solutions to improve business outcomes while protecting vital resources. The company’s partnership with Green Key will promote the use of sustainable solutions at hotels and restaurants across Europe to meet customer expectations and achieve and maintain Green Key certification.  

“We provide customers with solutions and services that help keep their operations clean and safe and enable them to achieve both operational and sustainability goals,” said Maarten Potjer, vice president and general manager of Ecolab’s Institutional business in Europe. “Through this partnership with Green Key, we can help hospitality businesses meet increasing consumer expectations around sustainability and achieve Green Key accreditation.”

“Working closely with market leaders and environmentally conscientious organisations such as Ecolab is a mutually beneficial arrangement that helps to broaden our reach while affording our partners the opportunity to highlight their commitment to helping address environmental concerns,” said Finn Bolding Thomsen, International Green Key Director.

To learn more about Ecolab’s commitment to sustainability, visit www.ecolab.com/sustainability/product-responsibility.

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About Ecolab

A trusted partner at nearly three million customer locations, Ecolab Inc. is the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that protect people and vital resources. With annual sales of $15 billion and 49,000 associates, Ecolab delivers comprehensive solutions and on-site service to promote safe food, maintain clean environments, optimise water and energy use, and improve operational efficiencies for customers in the food, healthcare, energy, hospitality and industrial markets in more than 170 countries around the world. www.ecolab.com

Follow us on Twitter @ecolab, Facebook at facebook.com/ecolab, LinkedIn at Ecolab or Instagram at Ecolab Inc.

Ecolab Contact:                          

 Laetitia Tettamanti

laetitia.tettamanti@ecolab.com

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About Green Key

The Green Key award is the leading standard for excellence in the field of environmental responsibility and sustainable operation within the tourism industry

This prestigious eco-label represents a commitment by businesses that their premises adhere to the strict criteria set by the Foundation for Environmental Education. A Green Key stands for the promise to its guests that by opting to stay with the Green Key establishment, they are helping to make a difference on an environmental level. The high environmental standards expected of these establishments are maintained through rigorous documentation and frequent audits. Green Key is eligible for hotels, hostels, small accommodations, campsites, holiday parks, conference centres, restaurants and attractions.

Green Key Contact :

Finn Bolding Thomsen

finn@fee.global

Commitment to the surrounding communities at Alaya Tulum

Alaya Tulum Hotel in Mexico shows a strong commitment to the surrounding communities by creating employment opportunities and by promoting sustainable development among the local region.

Alaya Tulum participated in the Green Key Best Practice Competition 2017 organized earlier this year with the theme “partnership and local engagement for sustainable development”. In January 2017, the hotel established a partnership with a family business of one of the employees at the hotel. The business is a 3 hectare organic farm called ‘Lemons’ 150 km from Tulum and it provides produce exclusively for Alaya Tulum Hotel. Through its operation, the farm provides work for a family of 4 people.

The sustainable production entails a better way of using existing resources at the farm, it promotes recycling of nutrients and helps improve the soil.  Organic production is based on the integration of practices of tilling the field, which includes a great amount of labour. This generates employment in the same area or region and prevents leakage of foreign exchange in the procurement of external inputs.  

There are several benefits of organic farming, which include:

• No use of chemicals, pesticides or fertilizers
• The produce has a flavor, color and aroma of the highest quality
• The produce contains more vitamins, minerals and antioxidants

The locally produced products also help in preventing global warming, as the transportation lengths are minimized and by purchasing produce from the farm, Alaya Tulum supports the local economy.

Through their established partnership, the farm delivers produce to the hotel 3 times a week. The produce and amounts (per month) include:

• 2000 pieces of coconut
• 200 parts of pineapple
• 160 kg lemons
• 640 kg oranges
• 20 kg dragon fruit
• 12 kg habanero chili

The goal of Alaya Tulum is to maintain the relationship with the family business and to start working with new suppliers in order to increase the variety of products and the number of deliveries to the hotel. The hotel also want to offer more new and healthy dishes on their menu. In addition to their existing partnership, the hotel also encourages the use of organic, fair trade- labelled, ecolabelled and locally produced products when purchasing.   

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As local as it can be - artisan food at the Åland Islands

Anderssons Guest House & Bakery is one of the smallest Green Key awarded sites on the Åland Islands, Finland, and they won third place at the Green Key Best Practice Competition 2017.

The operations at Anderssons Guest House & Bakery are run with great care for the environment. The site consists of a small guest house, bakery and café and the owner Annette has an excellent availability of high quality local foods, which helps her operate in a truly sustainable manner.

“The main ingredients in my bakery are local, like the flour and all dairy products. We have great foods of high quality on Åland Islands. The guests can feel that it’s genuine and many say that all local food on the Åland Islands tastes so good”, says Annette. One of her specialties is the hemvete (directly translated to home wheat), which is a traditional bread from Åland. This bread can be enjoyed in the bakery or by guests of the guest house for breakfast, and the flour for the bread comes from an organic farm just 1,5 km away. When Annette needs more flour, she can just pick up the phone and call Gunilla, the owner of the farm, and place an order. This means that the flour is totally fresh and it is ground in a traditional stone mill.

The cooperation benefits both the small guest house and the farm; “With our cooperation I know that I get high quality, real and genuine ingredients from just around the corner”, says Annette. Gunilla continues by adding “It’s nice that my flour becomes a really locally produced bread. I can buy Annette’s bread and taste it”.

The bread is so popular that visitors often first buy one and then return to buy a whole bunch before they leave the Åland Islands. At the end of the summer when Annette closes up for the season, people can come and buy even 20 hemvete at a time to keep in the freezer to have the delicious bread to eat later. Annette also cooperates with other local suppliers, like the local dairy cooperative ÅCA and the local mill Överängs.

The cooperation between two environmentalists to produce local, artisan food as a way of showing visitors and locals the local food culture and food history is the reason why Anderssons Guest House & Bakery won third place at the Best Practice Competition 2017.

Mon Arbre à Moi – A story of reforestation

The runner-up to the Green Key Best Practice Competition 2017, Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo, inspires with their determined initiative of reforestation.

In January 2017, Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo launched its project Mon Arbre à Moi – My Very Own Tree to reforest a hillside that had been burnt down by an act of arson. The hillside in question overlooks the town of Menton, which borders with the principality of Monaco. As an important number of the staff members live in Menton, the Green Committee at Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo decided to take action and get involved in an important cause for the area.

Mon Arbre à Moi is a significant symbolic initiative that was jointly crafted by the Metropole, the municipality of Menton and the Office National des Forêts (National Forests Office) involving partnerships between several actors. On event day, olive-tree seeds were given to the staff members´ children so that they, together, could plant the first new trees on the burned-out site. A local association, Les Ânes Maritimes, participated by lending their donkeys to help carry the jerry cans needed to water the trees.

The initiative is a long-term project uniting the participants annually on 21 March, celebrated as the International Day of Forests, to visit their trees, to water them and to see how they have grown. Once the trees start to produce olives, the project participants will be invited to harvest them. The olives will then be sent to a local olive oil producer, L´huile Saint Michel, and once produced the olive oil will be given to the guests at the Metropole. Guests will also have a chance to directly participate in the ongoing project by planting their own seeds and thereby help with the reforestation.

Mon Arbre à Moi proves that it is perfectly possible to be a luxury hotel while cultivating real ecological authenticity and take a stand for the environment. The initiative has helped nature rebuild itself and to recreate the hillside landscape of Menton, and as a long-term act for the planet, only recycled water is used to water the olive trees. The initiative has also been warmly welcomed by guests at the hotel and it has helped in raising awareness on the Metropole’s environmental pledge and green policy.

The reforestation initiative is a strong showcase of different stakeholders coming together and creating partnerships for a central environmental cause, and it is the reason Hôtel Métropole Monte-Carlo was awarded second place at the 2017 Green Key Best Practice Competition.